Redwood Code Academy

Redwood Code Academy

About

About

Redwood Code Academy is an intensive full-stack software development bootcamp located in Irvine, CA. Technologies taught include HTML, CSS, Javascript (Including AngularJS and React), .NET, C# and SQL. Redwood Code Academy covers full stack software development, with a focus on web application, but also includes mobile applications, desktop applications and cloud services. The Academy focuses on real world skills training by helping students learn the fundamentals of full stack development, work in teams to build a portfolio and gain the skills necessary to interview and land that dream job. Full-time and part-time courses with financing options are available.

Full Stack Immersion

Students will learn the fundamentals of full-stack development, work in teams to build a portfolio and gain necessary skills.
The program is broken up into:
Software Fundamentals,
Web apps and front-end development
Full-stack .NET and SQL
Starter Portfolio Project
Capstone Portfolio Project
Interview and Industry Prep

Course Details

Interview

Yes

Part Time - Full Stack

Become a software developer without quitting your day job. Learn the in's and out's of coding in 24 weeks of night classes.
Class Schedule
Tuesday, Wed, Thursday: 6 PM - 9 PM
Industry Leading Curriculum
Learn the most sought after technologies that employers are looking for. We have a focus on the .NET framework and also dig deep into web development including JavaScript.
Get the same curriculum and lessons taught in our full time class, without needing to change your work schedule.

Part Time - Full Stack

Become a software developer without quitting your day job. Learn the in's and out's of coding in 24 weeks of night classes.
Class Schedule
Tuesday, Wed, Thursday: 6 PM - 9 PM
Industry Leading Curriculum
Learn the most sought after technologies that employers are looking for. We have a focus on the .NET framework and also dig deep into web development including JavaScript.
Get the same curriculum and lessons taught in our full time class, without needing to change your work schedule.

Full Stack Immersion

Students will learn the fundamentals of full-stack development, work in teams to build a portfolio and gain necessary skills.
The program is broken up into:
Software Fundamentals,
Web apps and front-end development
Full-stack .NET and SQL
Starter Portfolio Project
Capstone Portfolio Project
Interview and Industry Prep

$500 Redwood Code Academy Scholarship

Eligibility

Qualifying Courses

500 off

Thank you for requesting information about the $500 Redwood Code Academy Scholarship scholarship. You will receive an email shortly with further instructions on how to apply and claim your discount to Redwood Code Academy .

As of three days ago, I completed Redwood Code Academy's full-stack immersion program. While it may be premature to say it was the best career choice I've ever made, it has the potential to be. I cannot be more excited to embark on a new career and take the skills I've learned and apply them. Harrison, Billy, Taylor, and Karim were integral parts in my acquiring the foundational knowledge and best practices that will help me succeed in the field of software development. Each had their own area of expertise and it was evident in their lessons. Equally as important, all were more than willing to help me through my bootcamp journey even before and after class. Coming from a background in education, the lessons were well adapted to multiple learning styles and engaged students individually, in pairs, and small groups, which was a plus. If you are looking for a school in Southern California, I would highly recommend Redwood.

If you're looking to go into the field of coding and you're thinking about going through a bootcamp, Redwood Code Academy should be at the top of your list. Learning to code will be one of the most difficult things you ever do. Making sure you pick the right bootcamp is crucial. Redwood Code Academy offers amazing instructors who genuinely care about you succeeding. Check your attitude at the door, and Redwood will make sure you get everything you need to become a full stack developer with highly sought after skills. Good luck.
"The name doesn't matter, it's hotdog."
- Billy Pruden

Redwood has proved to me that they are efficient as a school and as a business. The staff maintains a great balance exhibiting professional and personable manners. I was never treated in any condescending way, as I had been at a previous coding bootcamp. The course is streamlined to guarantee every student picks up the languages at the same pace, build applications accordingly as individuals and as a group. Assistance is available at any time, after class and even when you're at home.

I greatly respect the efforts Redwood's staff has put in, to ensure the students are crafted into full stack developers, and would invite anyone curious - to spend a day here to get a feel for what a typical day is like. Watching the staff work with all different kinds of students who learn differently, have different personalities and behaviors that shape them into their own kind of developer, it's fascinating to see how fast they all can move and handle such a variety of people. Every student's frustration and challenges were always taken care of. The E in Redwood could go for exceptional or efficient, either works well. Redwood has a community that is evident with previous students and professional developers coming in as guests speakers, who are able to use the environment as a mini work space or to just hang out and visit.

A very good friend of mine in my cohort had actually become employed halfway, week 8, (this is not to say you will be employed early on), he accepted the employment and Harrison was personally helping him with in-depth learning in a particular language, guiding him with problems and making his transition out of our bootcamp smoothly into his new full-time salaried job! This bootcamp does not guarantee its' students a job, but job assistance is most certainly available and is put in place. For anyone who is worried about job placement, at any coding bootcamp you go to - it's always going to be up to you to do the hours of searching, applying, interviewing and putting yourself out there. Redwood does provide the environment, time and effort being put into us to ensure we are maximizing our productivity of job search.

As a business too, they genuinely care about how they're doing, if they're meeting the students' expectations. We have one on one's that check in on how the student's are doing, how they're feeling so far and what kind of feedback they have if any - this happens every few weeks. I have never read any coding bootcamp reviews about the schools' staff and Founder, taking the time to check in on student's personally and making sure that both sides are happy. They promise a specific cirriculum, and they delivered accordingly.

When I was 18, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted do, had my entire life planned out to the very last detail, and put in countless hours to get to where I wanted to be. After graduating from UC Irvine, I received an amazing offer at an established company that provided me with many opportunities. Although everything was falling into place, I began to feel a great sense of emptiness. I was very fortunate have an extremely patient supervisor that provided me with the resources to succeed, however, I knew that this was not path that I wanted to continue on.

Despite the countless moments of conflict, I was assigned the task of redesigning the company website which I eventually took on the role as a Project Manager for this project. I used Adobe Illustrator to create wireframes of the look we were aiming for and also worked with the developer to determine the best user interface for our customers. Althought it was not an easy process, it was extremely rewarding to be able to be a part of creating something that our users enjoy using! This was the most enjoyable project that I had the opportunity of working on and this was also when I began thinking how could actually make this a career.

After much consideration, I decided that it was time to redefine my goals and move on. I knew for a fact that I wanted to be in an environment where the learning opportunities are dynamic and continuous. I looked further into Software Development and found the field to be absolutely fascinating! I then left my job to pursue a career in Software Engineering, which was extremely intimidating as it is a field that I had absolutely no background knowledge in.

In the first couple weeks of the program, I felt extremely overwhelmed and was extremely uncertain if this was the right path for me. As time progressed, however, I can't believe that I've found myself falling more in love with programming with each passing day. It's definitely not all rainbows and butterflies as the instructors at Redwood constantly push us with new challenges each and every day. They won't give you the solution to the problem, but they do an amazing job at guiding you get to the solution on your own. Their curriculum and approach to teaching definitely prepares their students to succeed in the workforce.

Although I find myself constantly challenged each and everyday, it's been an extremely rewarding journey thus far. Whether it's something big or small, we are literally creating something everyday - Whether it's building a game, creating a website, or collaborating with other developers to make a app! Redwood has countless resources to help you succeed so all you have to do is just ask and they'll be there to guide you in the right direction.

Whether you want to leave a job that you're unhappy at, change careers, learn a new skill, or whatever your heart desires - I challenge you to take control of YOUR life and just DO it. It took me a year and a half to muster up the courage to make this transition, but I've never been happier and I wish the same for all of you!

I’m a current student, though I’m far enough along in the course that I feel comfortable reviewing and recommending Redwood Code Academy.

Before enrolling at the Redwood Code Academy, I had researched bootcamps throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Upon touring the Redwood campus, I immediately got the sense that the fit was right. Also, while most other local bootcamps teach strictly JavaScript stacks, Redwood teaches JavaScript for front-end development and C# (.Net) for backend. The fit and the diversity of the curriculum compelled me to choose Redwood.

My experience so far has been phenomenal. The instructors are super knowledgeable, but also approachable, and teach in a way that empowers the students to quickly apply their newly gained skills. Currently, we are learning C# and I am already able to construct a console game that has multiple classes, class inheritance, takes and uses User input, and has diverse gameplay functionality. It’s not world-changing stuff, but I can say without a doubt that I can code more now than I had ever anticipated that I would be able to at this point.

I really have no complaints. I left a stable, promising career to attend the Redwood Code Academy and I am 100% satisfied with my decision. There’s truly nothing detrimental that I can say about the course. But, in an effort to provide as fair of a review as possible, I will say that the course material is complex and fast-paced. So far, I’ve had one period where I felt a bit overwhelmed, but we revisit concepts so often during the duration of the course that, eventually, things work themselves out. And, in any case, the instructors are always willing to stay late to work with students and are constantly available online to answer any questions.

I had high expectations for my experience at the Redwood Code Academy and so far, they have been met totally. If you are willing to put in the work and develop a passion for coding, I recommend as strongly as I can checking out the Redwood Code Academy.

I was nervous about taking a risk of attending a full-time bootcamp, but since I've gone through it, I am confident I made the right choice. They helped guide me through a few steep learning curves that would have taken me much longer to get through on my own. This applies to both the languages themselves and the tools used to make it all work. There have been some concepts that seem overwhelming, but Harrison and Billy are very knowledgable and break it down into smaller bits that are easier to digest. Having done my research before attending a bootcamp a common piece of advice I read about was that you get out of it what you put in, if you're willing to put in the work, Redwood will definitely go more than halfway to get you to your goals. I highly recommend Redwood to anyone that is serious about learning to code.

I was just like anyone else at the beginning of the course. I had a lot of hope that this was not going to be a bust or waste of time and I'm so happy that 9 weeks later I feel I'm doing things I used to watch other techies do and wonder if I'd actually get to learning it in my lifetime. Now I'm mad I just did not do this a long time ago Harrison and Billy really have an excellent way of teaching so that you get the meat of it all.

I checked out a couple of other boot camps before and they were cool but they did not cover any mobile or app development mainly just javascript. I wanted flexibility in my future career path so I really appreciate Redwood Code Academy giving me multiple paths to choose from and instructors that really code for a living.

Harrison and billy are a beast when it comes to knowledge and experience in the field and I'm so happy I came here because I know for a fact it very rare that instructors have such a deep pool of knowledge to draw from. I feel very confident on interviewing for the job I want due to the fact your teacher could pretty much hire all the people that would be trying to hire you. Harrisons Bio doesn't come close to what you learn about him in person and Billy is always there to back you up when hit that wall.

Jobs Jobs Jobs That's what you want to know about well in the mean time I'm trying to get everyone I know in here for the fact I already have three job offers halfway through the course. The need for developers is not dying it's growing as we head into this new technological era so once I started just telling people what I was studying for people were giving me there business cards offering pay that is 50% more than what I currently make at my lame 9-5 job ummm can you say complete life change.

I have a daughter coming around April first and at the beginning of this year I was stressed out on how I'm going to pay for everything so i can be a great dad considering I have not been back to school in 20 years, to be able and pick this up and start a new life is beyond words to me.

I personally feel that this is the time to get into a boot camp and save yourself for 4 years of debt. If you go to college it would take 4 years to get what we get in 3 months at Redwood but main difference is we use the technology when it's hot, school you will be going back to BootCamp to learn what's up to date. If you don't have the luxury of time and free rent, food and people just flat out paying all of your bills this is the place to be, and if you do, it's still the place to be lol. Redwood Code Academy did not change my life it literally saved it to think I was going to procrastinate and take a later class, id just be further away from the success that I'm enjoying today and the class is just 4 weeks to go.

Is it tuff yes its a challenge you will hit that brick wall but the teachers are here to pull you up and they always do. My advice is to never give up stay hungry and time will fly so many people waste so much time in 3 months you are literally a different person and personally I'm basking in the new me.

I have a little bit of a unique experience because I have previously completed the course at Orange Count Code School and worked for a year and a half as a front end developer.

Redwood has exceeded my expectations as a code school. We learned far more technologies than I thought was even possible to learn in 12 weeks. The teaching and support here is incredible and the teachers really care if you understand what you’re learning.

I think it is a huge privilege to graduate knowing the C#/.NET stack and the MEAN stack. Yes, the programming concepts are the same but you have a larger skill set for the job market and you are able to figure out if one strikes a greater passion in you than another. Personally, I got a job using C# but my passion is the MEAN stack and I was able to figure that out here.

Bottom line if I had to choose all over, I would have come to Redwood in the first place because the teachers are outstanding and I really felt comfortable asking questions here.

Anyone that is on the fence about whether or not to attend a bootcamp - stop debating. If you’re researching the code schools to death and still feel unsure of where to go - stop looking. My only regret is not starting this sooner. I researched a ton of camps before deciding to attend Redwood, and I am so thankful that I made this decision. The curriculum is current and relevant to the job market. The content is challenging and intense, but you can still feel comfortable asking questions and seeking help when you need it. If your curiosity of a particular technology takes you somewhere beyond what the course curriculum entails, the instructors are more than willing to work with you on whatever your interests are in their free time. You have 24/7 access to the truly brilliant minds of the leader and instructors, which is an invaluable resource. What sets Redwood apart from the rest is the obvious dedication, brilliance, and enthusiasm that exudes from their staff. It’s apparent that they eat, sleep, and breath code. The instructors are excited about development and dedicated to your success as a developer. They provide you with the knowledge, training, and resources that it takes to secure that dream job. I have no complaints about this program and would highly recommend it to absolutely anyone. Don’t just take my word for it though...contact Harrison with any questions, concerns, or thoughts you may have about the program. I assure you he will respond in a timely manner with all of the info you’ll need!

I came into this course not knowing anything in regards to coding. I had my doubts and had visited several boot camps before making a decision. The first impression is always the most crucial and Harrison Spain blew me out of the water. He walked me through how this course works and what the expectations are. He put my mind at ease. Over the past 3 months, i have had ups and downs, I have felt completely lost and each time something connected the feeling of accomplishment was amazing. Several fully functional apps later I have a solid grasp on coding for the languages that we have learned and full confidence in learning new ones with ease. 10/10 would absolutely go through this experience again. The teachers were awesome, the students were great and I am all the better having gone through this class!!!

This decision changed my life. Before I decided to embark on this journey, I was completely miserable. Even though I was doing well career-wise, I absolutely despised my job! My experience here has been rewarding, challenging, and WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Curriculum:

So far, we've gone over Javascript, JQuery, Angular JS, C#, SQL, and various industry best practices and operational frameworks such as Agile which includes SCRUM. The curriculum is very robust and fast-paced. It is tailored to the increasing job demands of the Orange County market.

Instructors:

Harrison, Billy, and Taylor are the most knowledgeable and patient instructors I've ever had the pleasure of working with. The structure of the class is small so that each student has the opportunity to obtain personal instruction should they need to.

Job Assistance:

N/A

Overall, my experience has exceeded my expectations, and I am excited to finish this journey and see where this path leads me!

After watching "Silicon Valley" on HBO one sunday night, I was inspired, and wanted to learn how to code, and be able to create things, as part of a team, or on my own. Before enrolling into Redwood Code Academy, I was in the medical field as a Respiratory Therapist, with no experience in coding. I started teaching myself code by trying out free courses online, and did that for a month. While I was self teaching, I found myself learning at a slow pace, and needed to go somewhere that would push me to learn..

MAN!!!, did I get what I was asking for.. At Redwood Code Academy each day would start off with a lesson, and after lunch would be a lab. The lab would take up the rest of the day. It would make me think, and occasionally frustrate me. The thing is, they dont always expect you to finish the lab, but understanding the concept from the lesson prior, is what they are really trying to push.

The instructors: Harrison, Billy, and Taylor are very knowledgable know their stuff, when it comes to making RPG games, teaching, and what jobs will be looking for during an interview. There will be days when you feel like you hit a wall, but the instructors are there to help and point you to the right direction.

I am 6 weeks in, and half way through the program. My experience so far at Redwood Code Academy has been nothing but challenging, and I wouldn't have it any other way! I have learned so much these past 6 weeks, than I would have on my own. My colleagues in my cohort, come in all different ages, from their mid teens to their late 30's! I say this because, it's never too early, or too late! If you have been considering to learn to code, and want to go to a place that will give you that push! Redwood Code Academy is the place to be!

I always wanted to pursue a career in coding but after graduating with a Marketing degree I thought it was too late. I had watched quiet a few youtube videos about HTML, CSS and Javascript as well as took a few courses on code academy but my coding experience and knowledge was very limited. After working in the Marketing field for a year I decided to take a leap of faith and pursue coding. I googled coding bootcamps and realized there were quiet a few in the LA/ Orange County area as well as online. I talked to many of the bootcamps but soon realized Redwood was the choice for me. The class size is small which I loved because I was already intimated coming in with such little experience. The professor to student ratio is perfect. In my cohort there were 3 professors and 15 students. There was always someone to answer your questions or help you catch up if you had fallen behind. The professors are amazing and willing to go the extra mile for students. If they could tell we were struggling they would hold extra study sessions after class and review the material as many times as we asked. Redwood goes above and beyond for their students. Not only do they provide an incredible curriculum that will prepare you for a job but they also give students an awesome learning enviorment. I would reccommend Redwood to anyone interested in pursuing a career in coding. It was the best decision I ever made!

About me: before Redwood, I was a student looking to develop my understanding of programming so I could better contribute to an app development project at Stanford University. I specifically sought to increase my skills and understanding of front-end design using HTML and CSS, while simultaneously getting to know how code works. These goals, along with my schedule and financial situation, led me to take the part-time class at Redwood Code which runs in the evenings from 6:30 to 9:30PM.

Content/Course: the course is fast-paced! Do your homework and pay attention while the instructor talks. Billy, the lead instructor, is very funny and personable and is there 24/7 to answer any concerns and issues. If you get stuck while he is lecturing, Taylor, another kind instructor, walks around the room to help debug and resolve any issues. Throughout the course you learn CSS, HTML, Java and more and the languages’ application in the real-world is tested in your homework. Homework ranges from review to challenges so you have plenty to do after class! You are provided with resources to review content before and after class and additional material to supplement your understanding, but as with all coding bootcamps, what you get is what you put out. The structure of the class goes from learning in lectures, a short break, to practicing in the lab time where you can do homework with guidance from the instructors. My advice: definitely come in with snacks on your break as it may get tiring at night, give yourself enough time to learn before and after class, and be patient! Learning a new skill is not easy, but with practice you will find yourself feeling more and more versed.

Instruction:

Billy and Taylor (did not experience Harrison) were generous, light-hearted and knowledgeable instructors, you felt at the same time safe and challenged asking questions, providing input, and also working in the class while doing the lab. I got to witness Harrison lead other classes and noticed his calm demeanor and confidence in teaching as well!

Community:

You work in a small cohort

There are many OC locals and everyone has a story, so you can always relate.

There is always one-on-one help whether in-person or via a Slack channel.

Billy was thoughtful to put a dongle on my desk every day knowing I had a Mac that only had a USB port.

It is a very cool and chill working space-- I liked having the choice to work in the office spaces and classroom. There’s even ping-pong and VR for a mental break!

Job prospects:

I wasn’t searching for a job, but I could see that the team here was intent on sourcing their students.

There were side projects and hackathons suggested for students to develop their programming skills outside of the classroom for cash prizes, and portfolio and skill development.

Finances:

I was able to work on the Redwood Code Team as an intern, which reduced my cost of attending the part-time class. Harrison was very intent on providing an opportunity for me to learn despite my financial constraints.

Although it may be pricey to attend a bootcamp like this, if you are serious about changing or advancing in the world of code, a boot-camp like Redwood is exactly what you are looking for. It was challenging and frustrating at times but the great staff an instructor/owner, Harrison, are great teachers.

The teaching staff make every effort to make the material digestable for a novice. The structure of the curriculum and the small class size enabled us to move quickly and efficiently through dense subject matters. While the atmosphere is easy-going, the instructors will make sure you are challenged everyday.

I was first attending the part-time course and then transfer to the full-time. I was doing the PT course because during that time I was working full-time. Many of the other Boot camps near Los Angeles and Orange County do not offer PT in class courses. They are mostly online and I wanted to be able to talk to someone if I was having issues. I really enjoyed being part of the first PT class. Billy is the instructor in the PT class and is very knowledgeable. Redwood’s PT course teaches you everything you need to know to become a front-end developer. I wanted to learn how to become a Full-Stack developer and I knew I would get that in the Full-time course. Harrison worked with me and made it very easy for me to attend the FT course. If you're interested I would highly recommend you to give Harrison a call and talk to him about your goals.

The best advice I can give regarding making a decision about attending a bootcamp at all, or if this is the bootcamp for you: go to the website to get in touch with and meet Harrison, the lead instructor & founder to discuss what you are looking for, and to get a feel for his personality and experience.

Harrison is endlessly knowledgeable in a ton of technologies, computer science theory, programming concepts, and best-practices. His real-world experience really shows in our lessons, the curriculum, career prep, and his industry connections.

The assistant instructor, Billy, graduated from a bootcamp himself (General Assembly, LA). His bootcamp experience is incredible for us students, since he knows exactly what we are going through and how to supplement lessons when the class is struggling with a particular topic.

It will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is. Harrison will have prep work for you that is very helpful and much needed in preparation of the 12 week slam. Be prepared to do up to 70 hour weeks. I perosnally had around 65 hour weeks throught the bootcamp. It's as Harrison said to us many times, the bootcamp is like waking up and drinking from a firehose full of knowledge. There were a few times near the end of the 12 weeks in which I was told we would be going over a langue or two but never did end up getting the lecture or a one-on-one lesson.

I was a unique student in the cohort as my employeer had sponsored me to go to the camp. I had moved from several states away to attend a .NET camp. There are very few camps out there like this one and the market for .NET is ever growing. However Harrison made sure to make a point of whiteboarding and preparing us for the job interview and application process.

The amount of information and knowledge presented throughout the course is amazing. Post graduation and I'm still learning from it all. Sure, It was tough at times, but that's because I learned more in the three months attending than my previous two years of self teaching. And not only do you learn full stack development, but you also learn the stages of developemnt and the strategies used to ensure success. You'll learn how to assess a given project, choose a combination of technologies to build with, and move forward with the knowledge of how they connect to make the whole. There is a good amount of white boarding and both of the Instructors have the knowledge, patience, and tools to help you succeed in this journey.

I attended Redwood Code Academy and received the knowledge needed to be successful as a developer. The instructors at Redwood Code Academy bring all to their knowledge to table. I enrolled having no exeperince at all in coding. Now that I've graduated knowing the lastest skills in development. I'm happy and confident moving forward. It was a struggle for me but the assistance and motovation I received got me through, I couldn't be more exicted and thankful about the opportunities ahead..

I came into Redwood Code Academy with very little knowledge of coding. From start to finish it has been very challenging and fun. As the course has progressed, I have been able to build projects and understand each process. Not only is the environment entertaining, and enriching, but it's helped me with real world skills as a Dev.

The best advice I can give regarding making a decision about attending a bootcamp at all, or if this is the bootcamp for you: go to the website to get in touch with and meet Harrison, the lead instructor & founder to discuss what you are looking for, and to get a feel for his personality and experience.

Harrison is endlessly knowledgeable in a ton of technologies, computer science theory, programming concepts, and best-practices. His real-world experience really shows in our lessons, the curriculum, career prep, and his industry connections.

The assistant instructor, Billy, graduated from a bootcamp himself (General Assembly, LA). His bootcamp experience is incredible for us students, since he knows exactly what we are going through and how to supplement lessons when the class is struggling with a particular topic.

Having .NET in the curriculum and taught by someone with Harrison's experience is an amazing opportunity as well, since so few bootcamps teach .NET and because of .NET vs Ruby job openings in this area currently.

It will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is. I recommend doing some prep work on sites like Team Treehouse, but after a certain point during self-study, progress becomes too slow and that is when something more intensive and immersive is needed to drastically speed things up.

I'm not far into the job assistance phase yet, but we've already been introduced to top specialized recruiters in the area and have had great one-on-one meetings with the instructors, as well as white-boarding experience and interview advice (Harrison was director of ~100 developers and has a lot of experience being the interviewer).

I took a course last year that taught the basics of front end development and I was able to get a job, but when I was working I realized that I needed more training, then I started looking for intensive courses (bootcamps) that will give me the skills to be a full stack developer, I was particularly interested in .Net and C# and that is how I found Redwood. Being now in my 4th week of the course I am glad I found this school, Harrison the instructor is an expert developer and champion of a few hackathons, he challenges us every day and we are acquiring the skills to perform well in a real job. Also the environment is good, Billy the other instructor is always there to help. I will update this at the end of the course, but if you are looking to be full stack developer with .Net in the backend you definitely should consider redwood.

**NOTE: I have updated this 5 months after graduation, original review below this**

So I am 5 months out of graduation. I have a job that pays roughly 50% more than before.

Was Redwood worth it? YES! For me, it was the only way for me to learn. I struggled being able to sit at home and teach myself.

Redwood does a good job at preparing you for the real world. You learn full-stack development, and have resources to help you out. The people you meet there are all amazing.

Should you take a course just to make more money? No. If you want to excel at Redwood and in the future, you need to make sure becoming a developer is what you want to do.

Post Graduation was a bit tough. Without prior dev work experience, it's not super easy to get a job even though there are tons of them. You need to work harder than you worked during the course to find a job. Network, apply to 100 jobs per wek, etc... It takes time. Without Redwood's training I would have never had the job I have today.

Some tips that I wish I followed:

Code in your free time. The 3 projects you make should take up all your time. I spent 2-4 hours after class each night working on my project, and all my weekends. When not in a "project week" I suggest you either continue to learn on your own, learn something else, or start working on a side project. The more code you can have on your github, the easier it could be to get a job.

Network, Network, Network. Start going to meetups during after classes. Majority of open positions are filled by someones acquaintance.

Don't get down if no one respond to your job app. I got a bit depressed after 2 months of searching. Harrison at Redwood helped me out of it, and once I gave it 100% I was hired 2 weeks after that. Job searching should become your full-time job post-graduation. Spend 6-8 hours a day doing it. Oh, and did I mention you should be networking and going to meetups?

Redwood has the tools to make you a great developer, but you need to put in an effort to use the resources they offer. Slacking off, not trying, etc...will get you no where. You're paying a decent chunk of cash to attend and have them teach you, get all you can out of it. Don't squander it and expect them to snap their thumbs and make you a developer if you don't try.

This course will kick your butt. Let your family/significant other know that once this starts you need to dedicate your time outside class to learning/projects.

I'm extremely grateful for Harrison and Billy at Redwood. I would recommend the course to anyone who was interested in becoming a developer.

You can't go wrong with Redwood as long as you put in an effort - during the course and after graduating.

**ORIGINAL REVIEW**

Where to start? Over the last few years I've attempted to self-teach myself using Code Academy, Free Code Camp, The Odin Project and a couple of books. Most of them went the same way. Pickup the fundamentals, then at a certain point I hit a wall and don't know where to go. New concepts become to difficult to learn, and I can't figure out how to use what I learned in a real life situation.

I decided that enough was enough and enrolled at Redwood Code Academy. I was scared to apply to a first cohort, but after meeting Harrison I was sold.

Harrison (the owner and lead-instructor) knows his stuff, and is also very personable. Another reason I chose Redwood was that they teach .NET and C#. Not many bootcamps do this. Do a job search, do it right now. Search for "web developer." There should be a ton of .NET jobs at large companies. When I searched, I saw a significant amount of more jobs for .NET than ruby (what other bootcamps teach) or Node.

I've learned more in 2 weeks than all my self-learning combined and am actually understanding how to use this in real-life situations.

Is it frustrating at times? You betcha. But I knew this going into it. I would hit walls like I did when self-learning. The difference here is that Harrison and the TA (Billy) are extremely knowledgeable and I wouldn't be able to get past these hurdles without them there to explain things to me in more detail.

The culture is also a plus. Coming from a startup, this feels like home. It's that "work hard, play hard" culture, and Harrison does a great job at fostering that culture. Pepsi's stocked in the fridge (sorry all you Coca-Cola fans :P ), ping pong table that gets used every break, etc...

I 100% believe that after the 12 weeks I'll be able to find a job as a developer, and believe this is the best thing that's happened to me. In fact, this weekend I worked on some classwork. The big difference is that this weekend I couldn't wait to do some work. Before this weekend, I would have to force myself to work on code on weekends and considered it work - now I'm enjoying it.

Redwood Code Academy has been the gateway to infinite possibilities for me in the field of software development. I had no prior experience in anything having to do with computers. The course is intense, but that is because it is meant for people like me. Harrison, the instructor and founder of the academy, does an excellent job of making sure his student get a full-scope view of how these full stack programs work and are related to each other. The environment he has built at Redwood is creatively stimulating and comfortable. You can really get things done and be productive there. It is safe to say that being a part of this cohort was one of the best decisions I ever made. Enrolling in the intensive at Redwood gives you the tools to succeed in any software development endeavor you set your mind to.

News

News

Our latest on Redwood Code Academy

Quinton Fults served in AmeriCorps in a variety of roles from child life specialist, to nutrition and math teacher. After finishing his service, he realized that coding may be the best next step so he enrolled in courses at a local community college. After one week, he dropped the course because he was introduced to Orange County-based coding bootcamp, Redwood Code Academy. See why Quinton decided to learn to code at a bootcamp instead of community college, read about his Redwood Code Academy learning experience, and hear his tips for the job search.

Q&A

What was your educational background and last career path before you started at Redwood Code Academy?

I never really had any interest in computers. After graduating from high school my first job was through AmeriCorps and NCCC out of their Southwest Region in Denver. I did team-based national service for about two years. I did an eclectic variety of things – I was a child life specialist at a children's hospital, a certified tax repairer, I did rural addressing for the Navajo reservation, I taught nutrition classes, I taught math, and I was a contract painter. It was fun. After that, I came home to Fountain Valley and started looking into coding bootcamps.

What was the connection between your AmeriCorps service and realizing that you wanted to learn how to code?

I have a cousin who has been very influential for me. He's the CTO at a software company in Irvine called Technossus, and we're very close. We're the only two people in our family who are the same age range that could be brothers. He'd always talk to me about bootcamps when I'd come home. He’d talk about the level of connection between service and web development, and also music as well because I'm a professional banjo player.

What made Redwood Code Academy stand out in your search?

My cousin was working with a guy at Technossus called Harrison Spain, who is the founder and lead instructor of Redwood Code Academy. They worked very closely together, so my cousin told me about Harrison’s background and what the school was doing. One thing led to another, and I decided to enroll because I thought it was a really good opportunity. Talking with Harrison about the level of experience that I would get out of the school, it seemed very project based. I learn a lot more from working on something. So after talking with him, I had a very good sense that there would be a good amount of quantifiable outcomes that I could gain from experience. There were a lot of very introductory and then refined skills that I could really benefit from if I wanted to get into the coding world.

Did you try to learn to code on your own at all before Redwood Code Academy? How was your transition from AmeriCorps to bootcamp?

When the opportunity presented itself, it was a pretty spur of the moment thing. I had just started going to college at Golden West, but I decided as soon as I saw the coding bootcamp path that I would drop out and start preparing for that instead. I had been at Golden West for a week and I ended up dropping out just under the wire to get a full refund. My time coming out of AmeriCorps was pretty structured for what I was going to do. I knew I was going to go to college. But then I had a couple of days where I had met with my cousin and Harrison; talking about the coding bootcamp sounded really exciting. So I discussed it with my family and decided it would be in my best interest to take this route, try to find employment for a few years, and then get into the industry. My ultimate goal being to establish myself well enough that I could start freelance work while in college.

I had about two weeks until it was starting, and Harrison was very kind. I asked him if there was anything that I should work on prior to the course, and he sent me a couple of courses in HTML and CSS to get my feet wet. I had a couple of weeks of rigorously going through some online content on preliminary subject matter. Also, Udemy was offering a new year, new me deal for their online courses which was remarkable. The courses are $100+, but they had all their courses on there for $10.

Did you consider any other coding bootcamps within Orange County or were you sold on Redwood Code Academy?

Through the work my cousin does with Technossus, I found out a lot about Harrison and Redwood Code Academy. I'd spoken with a few other people in the industry, but within the Irvine area, where I live, the consensus was pretty much the same. If you want to learn how to develop software, Harrison is the guy you want to learn from. He is the coding wizard. Learning a bit about his level of understanding and skills, and from the recommendations of the people I talked to, he seemed to be the number one person in the area to learn from.

Were you looking for a specific type of curriculum offered by Redwood Code Academy?

The consensus I'd gotten for full stack development was that there are certain languages that are very, very big right now, they're not going away, and you're going to want to know them. Some of the big things I was looking for was anything that was going to teach me JavaScript as well as Angular framework, C#, and .NET. Seeing that Redwood taught those subjects was very useful.

I know I learn better with a project or task-oriented curriculum. I benefit from being taught a lesson, and being given a task for which I have to look up information, think about what I just learned, and apply it. From what I had found out about the course, it was very project oriented. Since I graduated, I've been taking more online courses to continue to grow my knowledge base. One thing I always look for in a course is something like "Learn Angular by building 12 applications.” That's something that Redwood provided on a daily basis; new curriculum and a project that would apply the skills.

Tell us about the application and the interview process for Redwood Code Academy.

The process of getting into the class was supposed to be similar to how your first coding interview would be for a job. It’s not necessarily technical questions, but more finding out where your passions lie and why you're interested in development. It's a course for pretty much anybody with any level of background whatsoever. Redwood Code Academy goes from ground level one, to the full extent of the subject area. Regardless of the pre-work, we had about a week and a half worth of HTML and CSS, learning that definitely supplemented the online courses they provided me. It was very useful especially in the application of the skills side. It was nice to come with a beginner's knowledge of what to expect and then go in there and be able to apply those skills.

Do you have any tips for our readers on how to ace the Redwood Code Academy interview?

Yeah. Harrison has a background with doing a lot of technical interviews. The course is really open to anybody interested in web development, so you don't need to have any coding background whatsoever. The interview is actually optional. Something that's good to know all around is the idea of being honest and being very real. This applies to any coding interview, in the job field interviewers can tell if you're not being fully honest with them.

With my spur of the moment choice to go to Redwood Code Academy, I was very honest with Harrison about my background and what my interest in doing it was. I was very real about who I am and why I’m interested in doing the course. You want to make good impressions on people. Harrison and the co-instructor Billy Pruden can be very good assets for you in the future so being honest is a good way to keep that relationship strong.

How many people were in your cohort? Was it diverse in terms of age and gender?

We were about 10 people. Race and age wise, it was fairly diverse. I was definitely the youngest person in my cohort, being 20 at the time. There were three or four people in their mid-to-late 20's and six or seven people that were 35 and up. As far as gender, our group was all men.

Could you give us an overview of your learning experience at Redwood Code Academy? Share a typical day and the teaching style.

The course is separated into three phases. Phase one is front end development, phase two is back end, and then phase three is different frameworks and more specialized learning. The phases start with an introduction to that type of development. During the last two weeks, you do an end of phase project either by yourself or doing pair programming. On the last day of the phase, you do a presentation of that project.

On a daily basis, the morning and maybe the beginning half of the afternoon would be a lesson. Either Harrison or Billy would walk the class through either a new language, or more specialized concepts on the language you had just learned. Towards the end of the lesson, they'd introduce us to the afternoon project. Typically, when you're starting off on a language, they like to do console applications. For example, let's say we just learned C#. They would create a roleplaying game where you're battling monsters and collecting gold in the console application. So you’d work on that using the skills that you just learned from the class. Billy and Harrison would go around and help answer any questions that you had. On occasion, they’d finish the day with a final little lesson to refine a concept, answer overall questions, or they'd do a practice interview question. Usually, you’d get a weekly chance to go in front of the class and practice doing a technical interview question on the whiteboard.

Did you have a final project that you had to present?

Yes. The cool thing about the course was that there were three end of phase projects. Your phase three project was your capstone project. The course is structured in a way that each phase’s project builds on top of the other. So you learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in phase one and you learn application with just that. In phase two, you learn C# and .NET, so you create an application using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C# and SQL in .NET. Our phase three capstone projects introduced Node JavaScript into our work.

What did you create for your capstone project?

My partner and I really encompassed every single thing that we had learned in Redwood for our capstone project. We used every single language and framework that Harrison and Billy had taught us, as well as any of the more specialized things we learned during the phase three section – to do with Node, using cookies, and Express.

What was a really good move on our part, and I would suggest this for anyone attending the school, is to ask Harrison and Billy "What kind of applications will we be expected to build in the job market as full stack developers and what would look good on our portfolio or GitHub?" They recommended a customer relationship management (CRM) app. It was not the most exciting idea that people came up with, but it’s invaluable for showcasing our skills and comprehension of the languages to employers.

The CRM app is on my Github and we called it Turn because it helps turn leads into clients. One of the questions that came up was whether or not we should host these capstone projects. Harrison and Billy informed us about how typically when an employer is looking at your work, they want to see your code as opposed to the application. Very rarely would they try to run it; employers want to see how well your code is written, maintained, and debugged.

Now you've graduated from Redwood Code Academy, how have you been spending your time and how’s your job search going?

What's really good about Redwood is that there's a week or two towards the end of the course where they talk about what you should do while you're applying to jobs. The job market right now is a bit shaky. It's the beginning of the year and companies are starting their new year budgets, so hiring is put on the background. There's also tax season, as well as the U.S. political shift. January 2017 and February 2017 are definitely not the easiest months for applying to jobs, so I’m still on the search.

But I'm never without something to do in regards to continuing to be an asset to myself. There are a lot of things to do, like working on projects, doing online courses to expand my knowledge base, refining the projects I'd previously done, and contributing to open source projects.

When finding your entry level position in development, something that Redwood Code Academy highly recommended was canvassing. In southern California, there are a good deal of development jobs, but in order to be really successful, you have to apply to a lot of places. One of the big tips Harrison gave, which I found to be very useful, was to get my name out there. Every morning I should be applying to at least 10 new positions. Spending every day working on a new project, learning a new language, applying to a dozen jobs is really the way I've been spending my time, and I'm finding it very useful.

Are you still interacting with Redwood Code Academy for your job search? Are they still helping out even though you’ve graduated?

When you're coming out of a bootcamp and looking to expand your value as a developer, you may also want to learn things that you're more interested in. Redwood helped provide a way to continue my learning and help my job search, which were two things I wasn't expecting to get out of the course, but have been very useful.

One of my big recommendations I have for any job seeker is keeping your connections alive. Have a circle of people that you really want to stay in contact with. It's been very beneficial for me to be very engaged with Harrison and Billy. I have lunch with Billy once a week and talk to him about the job search, different topics on coding, and ask for advice.

Are you going to different networking events in Orange County? Are you still keeping in touch with the other Redwood Code Academy alumni?

Yeah. There's definitely a bond that's formed from being in a bootcamp with a group of people. There are a lot of good groups that meet in the area and I'm a regular at a meetup in Long Beach called Uncoded. So there are a lot of smaller things aside from job skills that you gain from the coding community. It’s great to be able to talk about the industry, and learn new things. With these coding meetups, I think someone who doesn't have much previous technical experience might find themselves a bit lost. Having a better understanding of how to code has been very beneficial for getting immersed in the scene.

What has been your biggest challenge or roadblock in your journey to learn to code?

When starting out it was hard for me to take the initiative of not asking questions. There's a certain mentality you need to have to bang your head against a wall for an hour for you to learn. My biggest challenge has been not asking too many questions. There are things that if I would spend the time, I could figure it out for myself as that's where the real learning comes from. Having that confidence to trust myself to figure it out on my own was a challenge for me. Billy and Harrison are very helpful so it was easy to simply call them over when you're working on a project in class, and ask them for help. I don’t want to discourage asking questions because they definitely value very good questions, but there's definitely a level of expectation that you really need to allow yourself to struggle with the code.

What advice do you have for people thinking about making that career change into software development and thinking about attending a coding bootcamp?

I would advise anybody that enjoys creative problem solving, puzzle solving, and working on putting the pieces together in any sort of project – this is a good career move. But coding is not without its challenges. One thing that programmers need to be comfortable with is the arc of the coding process. You have to get comfortable with going through moments of complete clarity, and moments of complete loss and confusion. You can’t let it emotionally affect you or frustrate you because that is part of the process. You really need to enjoy the game of puzzles and trying to solve different problems, because coding is really about breaking things and fixing them; and then breaking them again and fixing them again.

About The Author

Lauren is a communications and operations strategist who loves to help others find their idea of success. She is passionate about techonology education, career development, startups, and the arts. Her background includes career/youth development, public affairs, and philanthropy. She is from Richmond, VA and now currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

With 16 years experience as a software developer and a hiring manager, Harrison Spain saw first hand how hard it was to hire competent software developers. To help fill this talent gap, Harrison decided to launch Redwood Code Academy in Orange County, CA. Harrison tells us where traditional education falls short, why he chose to teach .NET, and how his experience in the Marine Corps has made him a good leader and teacher.

What’s your background and why did you decide to start a coding bootcamp?

I've been a professional software developer for about 16 years, and a developing manager and hiring manager for the last 10 years. I've hired hundreds of developers, have been very involved in the Southern California tech scene, and I’ve worked with a lot of different startups and enterprise companies. Through those experiences of hiring, working and building teams, I saw a really big talent gap. It was really hard to find developers to hire.

Looking at traditional college education, I just didn't feel students were getting the skills necessary to succeed. So I decided to start Redwood Code Academy to fill that gap between traditional education and the real world skills that are necessary to get a software development job.

Why is the world ready for Redwood Code Academy now?

I had this idea about four years ago, but I decided that the market is right for this now. There's a really great need for Redwood, especially in Orange County where there are not many coding bootcamps. There are a lot of people looking for an education like this, and I've always had a passion for teaching, coaching, and mentoring.

How did you originally become a software developer? Did you teach yourself to code or did you get a CS degree?

I’m mostly self-taught. I've been doing software development since I was eight. I started out playing around with Visual Basic, then in junior high school I learned to program a TI graphic calculator. I went to UC Irvine for a computer science degree, but most of the skills I use day-to-day were learned on the job. I feel that a lot of learning happens by doing.

With that self-taught background, is that why you identify with the bootcamp learning style?

Yeah, 100%. If something like this was available back in 2000 when I started, I would have jumped on the opportunity to attend a school like that. It just wasn't around back then, and even now it's still kind of grassroots.

I spent six years in the Marine Corps as a tank commander. I feel my experience learning how to instruct, how to lead, and how to mentor a group of people in the Marine Corps is very relevant to software development in general, especially to a coding academy like this. I think it lends a unique perspective as well, because I don't see a whole lot of Military veterans in software development.

What technology stack are you teaching at Redwood Code Academy and why did you choose those specific technologies?

Redwood Code Academy offers a full stack software development course. We teach HTML, CSS, Javascript, and AngularJS for front-end. And for the back end, we're using the .NET stack, which means we're teaching C#, ASP.NET, MVC, using Xamarin, and C# for mobile development.

We chose that route because the only way to be marketable in web development is to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. There are other options, but in terms of teaching software development fundamentals, we don't necessarily think language is the most important part of that. It's more about teaching the concepts. We're teaching C#, but the reason we use it is because it's an easy language to teach the fundamentals with.

We also found that there is market need for .NET right now in Southern California. And we feel like if you know .NET, and C# specifically, you can really translate that to a lot of other programming languages, like Java or Ruby.

Is your own background mainly in .NET and C#?

Yes. I've been working with the Microsoft stack since 2000 when .NET 1.0 was released. I've worked with Objective-C, Java, Ruby, and others, but most of my experience is in .NET.

What was your curriculum development process like? Did you start from scratch?

I've been teaching and mentoring developers from entry level through senior level for the last 10 years, so I've learned quite a bit about natural progression between concepts and how to teach full stack software development. I use that experience as the basis for our curriculum.

I also looked at other coding schools’ curriculums and what was working for them. I talked to other bootcamp graduates and asked them what could have been done differently or better.

In the last five years, I've worked with dozens of employers. I know what skill sets they would hire for immediately if they could find developers. I'm using that information and incorporating it into the curriculum, so that when our students graduate, there will be companies that need exactly what we've taught here, which is really important.

Do you have a team with whom you collaborated to write the curriculum?

Redwood Code Academy is myself, plus a team of coaches, mentors, TAs and former bootcamp graduates.

How did you decide that 12 weeks was the right length for Redwood Code Academy?

Twelve weeks is a really good timeline to get a student to the point where they can do a technical job comfortably. It's not so short that there might be significant gaps, and it's not so long that you're wasting money and time before you could actually go land a job and learn a lot more on the job. I think 12 weeks is a good middle ground, and it's the average length of a coding bootcamp right now.

What's the structure and learning style of the program?

We're going to be doing daily instructional lectures. We have morning exercises, and then we go into a lecture that I will give on each day's topic. We will then have hands-on exercises in the afternoon, assisted by myself and the TA. In the evenings, the format will be like a reverse educational forum where students are either working on their portfolio project, or working on extending exercises from the day. They can specialize a little bit, they can ask questions they might be struggling with, or they can move forward a little bit faster.

How many instructors or teacher assistants or mentors will you have on campus at Redwood Code Academy?

For this first class, it is going to be myself as the lead instructor, with one assistant instructor. The assistant instructor comes from a Ruby background and has worked at a few different startups and on a lot of software projects. He went through General Assembly’s full stack web development course, so he has the experience from one of the tried and true courses. He knows what works, knows what could be done a bit better, and he helps out in that way.

What's your ideal cohort size? Are you aiming for a certain student to teacher ratio?

We're looking at 18 students per cohort, and so about a nine to one ratio. Our first cohort is shaping up to be a full cohort with 18 students.

Where in Santa Ana is your campus located?

We have our own space, which is about 4,000 square feet in the Red Hill Technology Center. It's right behind the Tustin District, off of Red Hill Ave and Barranca Parkway. It's a couple blocks away from the new SpaceX building. In the Tustin District, there are a ton of hip places to eat, drink, and hang out. We're right down the street from the John Wayne Airport tech scene. There are probably 200 companies hiring within a mile from this campus.

What's your classroom actually like in Santa Ana?

We have a classroom for 18 students with a projector, screen, and dedicated workstations for everybody. We have a break area where people can have lunch. We're setting up another area as a collaboration area, and an incubator for graduating students. Then we have a couple of conference rooms and offices for breakout sessions. It’s a work in progress, but our cohort starts on October 3rd and I think it's going to come together really well.

What are the admissions requirements at Redwood Code Academy? Are you looking for particular experience or knowledge of programming?

We're not requiring any experience. There’s an interview process where we talk to every potential student to make sure each person is passionate about what they're doing, that they're dedicated to the program, and have some of the very basic fundamentals of understanding coding. We will start at the core of "here are the basics of HTML, or here are the basics of languages," but at the same time it's requires someone that at least understands what software development is in general.

Over my years of interviewing and talking to potential employees, I think I have a pretty strong sense of the mindset that it takes to be a software developer. So I'm using that interview process as as the main gate and the qualification to join.

Will applicants have to complete any sort of coding challenge?

No. We do ask some technical questions on the phone interview, but we don’t have a specific coding challenge at this stage.

Once a student is accepted into Redwood Code Academy, do they have pre-work to complete before their first day?

Absolutely. We have a few different paths people can go through to get that fundamental pre-work done. We give them access to exercises on the basics of software development, what the language syntax is in JavaScript and C#, and then some basic HTML syntax. We can track their progress, and we give recommendations for what's next to make sure they're as prepared as possible when they step into the class.

Of the students who you've been interviewing so far for the bootcamp, what types of people are being drawn to Redwood Code Academy?

For the most part, our applicants are people who have always wanted to do software and were just never quite able to put it together, but are drawn to the logical aspects and the career stability of software development. We have a few musicians, which is interesting. Musicians seem to be drawn towards software development. They would like a more stable career, a better-paying job, and feel like it would be a good fit.

You mentioned you have an incubator for graduate students. Are you hoping to see students who actually want to start their own business when they graduate?

I think for the large part, people who attend a coding bootcamp are the same types of people who want to start a business. They have that entrepreneurial mindset and are looking to do something new. That opportunity is there if they want it.

If graduates want to start up a company, and have an idea, we have about four or five offices and a co-working space built into our Redwood Code Academy space. It will be free, but they will have to apply for it. They have to come up with an idea, and a basic business plan, and it will be relatively competitive. We will take people who we feel are going to have the highest chance of success, and who have the highest level of drive.

As well as physical space, will you be giving those incubator students any other kind of support?

Yes, absolutely. A big part of Redwood Code Academy is the support that we’ll give to students and graduates. The founders of Redwood Code Academy and myself especially, have a lot of connections and relationships within the industry. Being able to make those connections and introduce people to different companies is going to be pretty big.

We also have quite a few ties into the venture capital scene in Orange County. By having an incubator in the OC, we can definitely make introductions to people who are ready to invest in startup companies, and people who are looking for our specific type of graduates.

Is your first cohort at Redwood Code Academy going to be local to the Orange County area or coming from other parts of California or the United States?

We are attracting students from across the country for our first cohort. We have students coming from places like Colorado and Oregon, but for the most part, it's relatively local. Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and Riverside are where the majority of our students come from.

Once people understand what we can provide post-graduation, the incubator space, and the level of instruction we can give, I think we'll pull students from a pretty wide area.

How are you attracting a diverse applicant pool at Redwood?

Being a veteran myself, I would like to offer scholarships to veterans. We're working with a group called VetNet that helps find jobs for veterans, so we’ll be able to get a diverse group of people coming out of the military, the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Airforce who are looking for a job. Veterans are a smart, motivated group, ready to dig their hands in; they just need the opportunity.

When I was a hiring manager, diversity was at the forefront for me. It’s important that equality is built into our application process, to see if they have the drive, the passion, and the understanding to do software development. I think that attitude of being impartial, really creates a very diverse group.

Speaking of veterans, are you considering going through the VA approval process so that veterans can use the GI Bill to pay for their tuition?

The accreditation process to do that is lengthy and expensive, but it is definitely something we are exploring. It would be a huge benefit to veterans to be able to use those GI Bill benefits to pay for the school, but there are other ways that we can make it feasible for them as well, until we can get that accreditation.

Is there anything special you’ve had to do to get licensed to operate in the state?

Yes. There's the post-secondary education licensing that we're going through right now to be fully licensed and official. We're filing all the paperwork with the city of Santa Ana, and the state of California

How are you going to help students prepare to find a job when they graduate?

Towards the tail end of the course, we'll dedicate time for resume preparation, and we’ll cover what you should say to land an interview, and eventually land a job. We’ll do interview preparation on answers to interview questions, how to speak in interviews, how to handle technical challenges, etc.

We'll also be hosting hiring days on campus where we'll bring in potential employers, and give the students the opportunity talk to them. It will be like a meet and greet or a reverse job fair. We’ve already lined up a number of interested employers.

We’re interested in the job market in the Santa Ana and Orange County areas. What sort of companies are hiring and what sort of skills are they looking for?

In terms of company types, it's really all sizes and types of companies. I know at least six different startup companies that are picking up steam, and I know for a fact they're having a hard time filling out their development team. Orange County is really heating up in terms of venture capital money. There are also stable Fortune 500 and enterprise-level companies, the majority of which are also using the .NET framework.

Now that .NET has been open-sourced, it's also really opening up itself to the startup scene. We see a lot more startups using it, especially because the tools are very inexpensive if you are using C# versus some of the other competing languages. There's a lot of need across the board for graduates.

There are other coding bootcamps in Orange County like LearningFuze, Sabio, and Orange County Code School. What do you think sets Redwood Code Academy apart from those bootcamps and makes it stand out?

I think a few things make us stand out compared to those schools. Our campus has a lot of space dedicated to learning; plus, we have a dedicated incubator within the campus. Also, the level of instruction, some of our instructors have 20 years of teaching experience, is high. And we have great relationships with the Orange County tech scene. Plus, aside from Sabio, there aren’t other code schools teaching .NET, so having a full stack .NET curriculum will be a really big selling point.

Once I started promoting Redwood Code Academy, I realized that the applicant pool was larger than I anticipated. There's a ton of support behind Redwood and a ton of interest in it. So I've learned to think big, and work out how we can accommodate more students.

What sort of resources or meetups do you recommend for aspiring developers in the area who want to find out more about coding?

We're actually going to be hosting a Javascript 101 event and a C# 101 event on nights and weekends coming up in October. We're going to be hosting those regularly in the evenings, and you can find out if it's something that really interests you.

About The Author

Imogen is a writer and content producer who loves writing about technology and education. Her background is in journalism, writing for newspapers and news websites. She grew up in England, Dubai and New Zealand, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Welcome to the July 2016 Course Report monthly coding bootcamp news roundup! Each month we look at all the happenings from the coding bootcamp world from new bootcamps to big fundraising announcements, to interesting trends. This month the biggest trends this month are initiatives to increase the diversity in tech, some huge investments in various bootcamps, and more tech giants launching their own coding classes. Read below or listen to our latest Coding Bootcamp News Roundup Podcast!